To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 77 on page 27 of the report of the Health and Social Care Committee Prison Health, published on 1 November 2018, HC 963, what steps he plans to take to prevent prisoners from developing a problem with illicit drugs while in prison | They work for you, UK

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what effect has plain packaging had on the tax received from tobacco duty receipts in each financial year since that policy was introduced | They work for you, UK

The Scottish government has published a new alcohol framework 2018, outlining 20 key actions that seek to 'reduce consumption and minimise alcohol-related harm arising in the first place' | Alcohol Policy UK, UK

Drug-related deaths (DRD) have increased significantly in Scotland in recent years. Although men still account for the majority of cases, over the last 10 years the percentage increase in deaths has been much greater among women than among men | DRNS, UK

At any given moment, more than 3 per cent of the UK population are thought to be suffering from depression. For some people, like Kirk Rutter, symptoms persist despite treatment. Could psilocybin – the psychedelic drug found in magic mushrooms – help to put an end to depression by ‘rebooting’ the brain? | Science Focus, UK

Cannabis for medical use is no longer a matter for the criminal law. However, the absurd NHS guidelines are preventing doctors from prescribing freely. People who need cannabis as medicine have only two choices – go private or continue to source their medicine from the criminal market. In these circumstances the ethical and economic choice is to grow your own | CLEAR, UK

It is with great sadness that we report the death of Beryl Poole, who died on 8th October 2018. Beryl's life is honoured in this obituary by Dr Chris Ford who says "Beryl was one of the most humane, inspirational, passionate and intelligent women I have ever known” | SMMGP, UK

It’s a much-needed intervention given that our problem drinking is estimated to cost us a whopping €2.35billion annually in lost working days, alcohol-related crime and hospital treatment | Irish Sun, Ireland

The second Asia Harm Reduction Forum convened in Manila on November 14. Organized by the Harm Reduction Alliance of the Philippines (HARAP) and the Indonesian Public Health Observer Foundation (YPKP), its purpose was to strategize on reducing the harms of smoking combustible tobacco in the world’s largest continent | Filter Magazine, USA

The agency has received reports of serious health problems associated with use of the products, which are marketed as dietary supplements and contain an unsafe food additive called tianeptine. The warning letters were sent to Jack B Goods Outlet Store for its Tianaa Red, Tianaa White, and Tianaa Green products and to MA Labs for its Vicaine product | Medical Xpress, USA

In London, 55 per cent of people who experience heart-valve infections are injection drug users. They are particularly vulnerable to the disease and on-third of them die as a result of this infection | Medical Xpress, USA

On Monday 19 November, the first day of Alcohol Awareness Week 2018, Parliamentarians including Baroness Hayter and Fiona Bruce MP are meeting in Westminster for an All-Party Parliamentary Group on Alcohol Harm meeting to discuss the severe inequalities related to alcohol found across the UK | Alcohol Change blog, UK

Most of the drinking is done quietly at corner tables or leaning on the bar where they swap gossip, tell dirty jokes and bemoan the state of the world they were once idealistic enough to imagine they could change | Independent voices, UK

First, the critique. Kicking the policy can down the road is often expedient, but never wise. Not least when every day 200 people die from failure. That is where we are on UK tobacco policy. It is an important-but-never-urgent issue starved of the political attention it merits | Conservative Home, UK

This menu requires JavaScript in order to be properly displayed. Viewing requirements can be found at Extend Studio (Flash components and extensions, Dreamweaver extensions, Tools for web design and development)